How Does The Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Affect Illinois Homeowners?

On February 9, 2012, the Attorneys General of 49 states and the United
States announced a settlement with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan
Chase, Citibank, and Ally/GMAC. The settlement is meant to resolve some
of the issues presented in the robosigning scandal, which broke in 2010.

There are plenty of opinions as to whether the settlement is a win for
consumers or banks. However, until the actual settlement documents are
filed in federal court, there are very few specific details available.
In fact, the
rumor on the street is that there are no official terms to release at this time. The official
terms will eventually be released on the
settlement's website. The website is oddly not a .gov website, which has caused some observers
to raise their eyebrows.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has also published
her own website that contains resources related to the settlement.

Here is what we know so far:

If your loan is held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you are not eligible
for any of the settlement's benefits. Edward DeMarco, Jr., the acting
director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, refused to include Fannie
and Freddie in the settlement. He cited concerns regarding the obligation
to write down the principal balance on loans. He argues that writing down
the principal balances on Freddie and Fannie-held loans would cost American
taxpayers $100 billion. His numbers are actually off the mark -- principal
reductions would prevent countless defaults, which will cost taxpayers
even more money. In a typical foreclosure sale, banks will under-bid the
property's value to cover the cost of owning and re-selling the property.
This means that most foreclosure sales are currently netting values that
are less than the current market value of the home.

If you mortgage is or was held by one of the five participating banks,
however, you may be eligible for relief.

For example, if your home was foreclosed upon between January 1, 2008 and
December 31, 2011 by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, CitiGroup, or
GMAC/Ally, you may be contacted by the Attorney General's Office through
a settlement adminsitrator. You can also directly contact the Illinois
Attorney General's Office by calling its Homeowner Hotline at 1-866-544-7151.
Realistically, this amount is likely to be about $2,000 per home.

If your home is underwater, and you are behind on your mortgage, or are
at risk of defaulting, you may be able to obtain a principal reduction
on your first or second mortgage. Illinois is supposed to receive $1 billion
that is specifically earmarked for payments to borrowers, and to those
who already lost their homes. The Illinois Attorney General's Office
has stated that it will not divert any of the $1 billion into the State's
general fund (which both Wisconsin and Missouri are doing).

If you are seeking a principal reduction or other help, you can call the
Illinois Attorney General's Homeowner Hotling at 1-866-544-7151. You
can also contact your mortgage servicer at the numbers below:

Bank of America: 1-877-488-7814

Chase: 1-866-372-6901

Ally/GMAC: 1-800-766-4622

Wells Fargo: 1-800-288-3212

CitiGroup: 1-866-272-4749

If you are current on your mortgage, but are underwater and want to refinance
your loan, you can contact your servicer at the numbers above or contact
the Illinois Attorney General's Office Homeowner Hotline. In order
to qualify for a refinance loan, your interest rate must be higher than
5.25% and you must have been current on your payments for the last 12 months.

As more details are released, more information will be available. Given
that Illinois is receiving $1 billion of the overall settlement gives
me some hope that we'll see some positive change for Illinois homeowners
who are underwater or facing foreclosure.

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